KOCHI: A new comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) for the city being readied by the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) has proposed the development of a mass transit system for an additional 97 km in the city and its suburbs, including a new metro rail connectivity in the 18-km Aluva-Angamaly (via CIAL) and the 14-km Kalamassery-Tripunithura (via Kakkanad) mobility corridors.
The draft CMP identified eight additional major mobility corridors, including the Paravoor-Aroor (35km) and High Court-Munambam (30km) sections where bus-based systems have been suggested. The other corridors are High Court-Fort Kochi (14km), Petta-Thoppumpady via Kundannoor (8.5km), Tripunithura-Poothotta (14km) and Vallarpadam-Kalamassery (16km).
These are besides the existing corridors – Aluva to SN Junction (27.3km; existing mass rapid transit system or MRTS), SN Junction-Tripunithura (1.8km; Phase 1B-under construction MRTS) and JLN Stadium to Infopark (11.3km; Phase 2 under-construction MRTS).
It recommends three potential water routes in the study area, which is comprises 732 sqkm, spread across the corporation, nine municipalities and 29 panchayats. They are Varappuzha-CIAL/Kalady, Kadamakkudy-Kottapuram and Edakochi-Aroor-Panangad-South Paravoor.
The draft also bats for multi-modal mobility hubs in Aluva (bus+metro), Angamaly (metro+bus), CIAL (metro+air+bus), High Court (water+bus+metro), Tripunithura (metro+rail+bus) and Smart City (metro+bus+water) besides the existing Vyttila Mobility Hub (metro+water+bus).
The study held as part of the CMP preparation found that city bus route rationalisation should be taken up on an urgent basis. “A route-to-route overlap analysis carried out for bus services in Kochi observed that 22% of the routes have above 60% average route overlap with the proposed trunk routes or MRTS corridors...It is recommended to rationalise 31 routes (13 KSRTC and 18 private bus routes),” the document, which can be accessed from the Kochi Metro website read.
“Mass Transit System designed to move large numbers of people on special guideways will lower travel time and mitigate congestion. About 28.12km of the existing MRTS network is operational in the city. In addition, 11.3km of Phase 2 metro network is under construction,” the draft CMP read.
The study recommended that Kochi should decongest the core area and develop sub-city centres in different parts of the city.
These growth centres (sub-centres) should be connected through efficient city public transportation systems. It suggested the development of 114.6km corridors under the principles of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and 103.5-km of network as Growth Corridors to connect identified growth centres to faster multi-nodal development.